


Not Who You Think

by PagetPaulson



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-17
Updated: 2014-05-17
Packaged: 2018-01-25 11:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1647593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagetPaulson/pseuds/PagetPaulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Men are supposed to be manly! Or so says Aaron Hotchner. Who says your baby boy can't play with a doll or dress up with the girls? One Clayton Hotchner makes for one rough household.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The little boy giggled as his mother's fingers traveled around and tickled every inch of his skin that they could find. "Mommy stop it!"

Emily grinned down to her son, scopping him up from the carpet and carrying him up the stairs. "You are in such a good mood today, sweetie. Are you feeling better?"

The brunette boy nodded against his mother's cheek, his arms wrapped around her neck. "Uh huh." He did his best to wiggle around in his mother's grip when the older woman and him ended up in the doorway of his room.

Emily let out a laugh before setting the squirming boy down to the floor, watching as he immediately ran for the toys that lay scattered around the room. She crossed her arms over her chest before leaning against the doorframe, her eyes crinkling as she saw her son's shine with excitement. "You stay here and play until your daddy gets back with the groceries, kay baby?"

"Kay mommy."

She softly closed the bedroom door just enough so there was a tiny sliver of light shining into the hallway before making her way down the stairs.

"Hello?"

Emily spun on her feet, smiling when she saw her husband and eldest son carrying in as many bags of food in their hands as they could. "Hey guys." She quickly jogged over to her son, bending down and taking the bags from his hands.

Jack smiled up to his mother. "Thank you."

Emily shook her head, her nose pressing just against the seven year old's. "Pay up, babe."

Jack let out a laugh before reaching up and pressing a kiss to his mother's lips.

Hotch smiled from his new spot in the kitchen, taking the new carton of milk out from one of the bags. "How was your day?"

Emily shrugged, setting the family's eco-friendly bags onto the counter. "Pretty good. Me and Clay watched a couple movies after Pen and Jordan left, and he's playing up in his room right now." She smiled down to the boy at her side as she took the apples from the grocery bag. "Why don't you go up and play with your brother?"

Jack quickly nodded, his feet running fast against the ground as he made his way towards the staircase. "Clayton! Mommy said I can play with you!"

Emily let out a laugh before turning back around, her eyes widening in surprise as her husband's arms wrapped around her waist. "What's up, honey?"

Hotch smiled down to his wife, his nose brushing just against hers. "I've been dying to kiss you all day."

The younger woman giggled as her husband's lips pressed softly against hers. "Ditto." She smiled against the brunette man's lips, letting his teeth nibble gently into her bottom lip.

"Mommy!"

The couple reluctantly broke apart, letting go of one another so their eyes could glance twards the staircase. Clayton's little body charged down the stairs, his chubby little legs running as fast so they could to reach the first floor.

Both parents quickly made their way towards the staircase, Hotch scooping up his three year old son in his arms when his tiny feet almost fell out from under him. "Clayton."

Emily's eyes hardened on the young boy who was smiling against his father's cheek. "Clayton Paul, you know better than to run down the stairs like that. How many times have I told you?"

The three year old gave a pout. "Lots of times."

Emily nodded, taking her son from her husband's arms and sitting him at the bottom of the staircase. "Three minutes on the naughty step."

Hotch frowned as his son sulked on the wooden step, and he bent down before gently taking the toy from Clayton's hands. "Clay, where did you get this?"

Emily's head tilted as she looked to the toy. "I gave it to him."

Hotch looked up to his wife, standing straight before leading her into the living room. "Why did you give him this?"

The brunette shrugged, taking the toy from her husband's grip. "I found it in a box of my childhood things, and I thought he'd like to play with it." She looked up to catch the brunette man's gaze. "What's the big deal? Its just a toy."

The older man shook his head. "Its not just a toy, Em. Its a Barbie doll."

Emily's eyes stayed glued to the older man's, her head shaking. "Yeah, so?"

"Its a girl toy."

Emily felt laughter bubble up in her chest at the bewildered look on Hotch's face. "Oh Aaron, come on. He's just playing with a doll, who cares?"

Hotch followed his wife into the kitchen, his eyes wide. "Come on, Em. You know as well as I do that boys should not be playing with Barbie dolls."

"And what should they be playing with, Aaron?" The brunette felt herself smile despite herself. "What are some boy toys? Manly toys!"

Hotch's eyes rolled at the sound of his wife's 'man voice'. "Ok, this pointless."

Emily shook her head. "Aaron, you have to relax. Its just a toy, ok?"


	2. Chapter 2

Emily tightened her arms around her son's small body as the followed her friend into the costume shop. JJ had insisted on helping her find a costume for Clayton when he had told her that he wanted to go with only his brother and daddy on Halloween this year. Emily had been disappointed in knowing that her son would rather not have her come and enjoy the fun, but she quickly but a smile on for the happy little boy she had given birth to.

"Oh Em, this would be adorable."

The brunette looked up from the boy she held on her hip and looked over to the younger woman trying to get her attention. Her brown eyes fixed themselves on the small fireman costume her blond friend held in her hand. "Oh, that is cute." She smiled to her son and gave a small tickle to his tummy. "Do you like the fireman costume?"

Clayton's big brown eyes looked to the costume before his bottom lip turned into a pout, and he gently shook his head.

JJ gave a nod before putting the costume back onto the rack. "Ok, we can find something else."

Emily felt her son's tiny hands grab onto the material of her shirt, and she smiled against his temple. "What do you think you wanna wear, baby? Its a fun night so you gotta have a fun costume."

Clayton let out a laugh as his mother pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Blue!"

The brunette woman smiled wide at the child's immediate answer. "Well you didn't have to think hard for that, did you?"

JJ quickly ran back over to the brunette pair with a new costume in hand. "What about this, buddy?"

Clayton looked down to the blue and orange basketball costume in his aunt's hand and quickly shook his head.

Emily gave a small grimace before looking over to her friend. "Sorry Jayje."

"Em its not a problem. He's a kid, he's gonna be picky."

Emily set her son to the ground and gave a small pat to his butt. "You go and find a nice costume that you wanna get, ok? Then come back here and show mommy." The brunette watched her son run off before letting out a sigh.

JJ looked to her friend with a curious glance. "What's up, Em?"

The brunette bit her lip. "Aaron and I had a small tiff this afternoon before I left the house. I gave Clay a barbie that I found from one of my childhood boxes my dad sent me the other day, and Aaron nearly lost his mind. He said it wasn't right for our son to be playing with a girl toy."

The younger woman almost let out a laugh at the face her friend wore. "Oh Em, don't wrry. Henry went through the exact same thing."

Emily's eyes widened in relief before she let out a breath. "He did?"

"Of course. Almost every little boy goes through that phase." JJ shrugged. "Not that big a deal."

The women turned at the sound of a happy shriek and saw Clayton running towards them with a costume in hand. Emily smiled before squatting down to be eye level with the small boy. "Did you find one?"

Clayton nodded excitedly before thrusting the costume into his mother's hands.

Emily looked down to the sparkly blue princess dress in her hands with a raised eyebrow, her fingers hesitantly rubbing against the fabric before looking back up to her son. "You wanna dress up as Cinderella?"

The small boy nodded once again.

The brunette bit her lip before giving a small, nervous smile. "Oh your daddy is not gonna like this."


	3. Chapter 3

Walking into the home she shared with her husband and their two boys, Emily was hoping to God that Hotch wasn't there to greet them. She knew that he would freak out the moment he found out what his son had picked out for a Halloween costume, and she thought that it was definitely better to keep the information for later. "You hungry, baby?"

Clayton nodded his head, his hand latching onto his mother's as they walked inside.

"What do you feel like eating, Clay?" she cooed, picking up the toddler and sitting him on her hip. She took the bag that held his Cinderella costume and set it on the counter before turning towards the fridge. "Apples?"

Hotch fixed the bottom button of his shirt as he came downstairs. "Hey," he smiled, walking over to the kitchen where he saw his wife and son. "You guys are back so soon?"

Emily hid the nervousness she was feeling, letting the older man peck her lips. "Yeah, we were pretty quick. Clay knew exactly what he wanted."

"Is that right, buddy?" The father of two took his youngest into his arms and peppered kisses to his cheek. "You got your costume? You want to show it to daddy?"

Emily took in a breath as the older man went over to the kitchen's island, opening up the bag that held her son's dress. "Do you want a beer, honey?"

"I'd love one," he nodded, holding his son tight to his chest. Reaching into the plastic bag, his brows furrowed. "What is this?"

Clayton smiled at the costume he had picked out with his mother and vigorously nodded his head. "Blue!"

Hotch cleared his throat, setting his son down on the ground. "You go play in the living room, ok buddy? I'm gonna talk with your mommy." He watched his son scamper over to the living room before turning to face his wife, the dress still in his hand. "Is this his costume?"

The mother of two sucked her bottom lip between her teeth before slowly nodding her head, setting the beer for the older man on the kitchen counter. "It is."

"And why would he be wearing this?"

Emily tilted her head, looking to her husband with curiosity showing in her dark eyes. "Clayton was immediately drawn to it and so I got it for him. It's his first Halloween and I thought he should have what he wanted."

Hotch sighed, glancing down to the blue material he held. "Emily, I thought we discussed this."

"We discussed nothing," she laughed, closing the refrigerator door after taking out a can of soda for herself. "I sat back while you went all macho man on me and our son. What's the problem with him wanting to wear a dress for Halloween? It's one day out of the whole year," the mother shrugged, taking a sip from her drink.

The brunette man let his jaw muscles tighten at the younger woman's attitude. "Emily, I don't want this happening."

"Want what happening, Aaron? To my knowledge, nothing is happening."

"You're making decisions for our son with out consulting me first, and we agreed we'd never do that." His eyes hardened slightly on his wife. "What else have you told our children they could do without letting me know?"

Fire raged behind Emily's midnight eyes, her hand slamming down the drink she had been holding onto the counter. "I have never parented without you," she hissed. "Don't accuse me of things that are not true. Our son wanted a costume and I got it for him. What's the big deal?"

Hotch looked as if he wanted to throw his beer bottle across the room. "This is a dress."

"So fucking what, Aaron? Our son wants to wear a dress for one day of the year and he's entitled to. Who are we to tell him that he can't wear something he wants to?"

"We're his parents."

Emily shook her head, stepping closer to stand in front of her husband. "Just because we're his parents doesn't mean that we control every aspect of his life. If we don't let him do things that he wants to do then he'll end up hating us."

Hotch forced himself to keep his temper simmering just below the surface, holding his hand over his forehead to try and calm himself down. He didn't want to be screaming at the woman he loved. "I just think that you should have spoken about it with me first before telling him he could have it."

Emily kept her eyes trained on the older man. "Well if you don't want him to wear the dress then you go and tell him that. I'm not going to be the cause of him becoming upset."

Shaking his head, the father of two walked into the living room, leaving his wife to stand by the kitchen doorway and watch how things played out. "Hey buddy," he grinned, sitting down with his son on the floor. "What are you playing?"

"Legos!"

Hotch smiled to his youngest son as he watched him try to piece together a blue block with a yellow one. "So buddy, mommy told me about your Halloween costume."

Clayton's head bobbed up and down, his big eyes never leaving the building he was trying to construct with the blocks his parents had gotten him for his birthday. "I's gonna be blue, daddy."

"You like blue, huh?" His heart broke at the sight of his three year old looking up to him with that grin of his and nodded. "Well I was thinking that maybe you and me can go and look into some more stores. Does that sound fun?"

"Fo' what, daddy?"

Hotch found himself hesitating at the look that his son was giving him. "Well I was just thinking that you and mommy didn't go to enough stores to find the best costume. If we go out and search again, maybe you'll find something even better."

Clayton gave a pout. "No daddy, I don't wanna. No please."

"It's 'no thank you', Clay," he smiled gently.

"Yes."

The brunette man chuckled before holding out the dress that his youngest had picked out for Halloween. "Are you sure this is really what you want though, honey? We could always get you something like a firefighter outfit, or maybe a police officer?"

Clayton's big brown eyes filled up with tears at the thought of giving back his Cinderella dress and stood as quick as he could on his tiny legs, taking the dress from his father's hands. "No daddy! I's blue!"

Emily let out a sigh at the sight of her child rushing up the stairs to his room, tears falling down his chubby cheeks. "Baby wait!" She sent a glare to her husband before following her three year old up the stairs, her heart breaking at the sound of her son's sobbing.


	4. Chapter 4

Aaron Hotchner, father of two, fixed his eye mask over his face as he stood in front of the mirror that hung on the back of his closet door. Two days had passed since the argument he had had with his wife and two days since he had made his youngest son run away from him with tears speeding down his Charlie Brown cheeks.

Now it was Halloween night and the entire family was getting ready to head on out and collect all the candy they could.

"Daddy!"

Hotch turned away from the mirror with a smile on his face, his arms wrapping around his son's tiny body and scooping him into the air. "Hey there buddy," he grinned, blowing a raspberry on the giggling three year old's cheek. "You ready for your very first Halloween out with me and Jack?"

Clayton nodded his head, his chubby arms wrapping around his father's neck. "Yup."

"Did you get your bag from mommy yet?" Seeing the shake of his head, Hotch bounced his son on his hip as they traveled down the stairs. "You know, mommy has the best bags for holding candy."

"Really?"

Emily smiled from her spot in the kitchen. "Really," she chuckled, taking her son from the older brunette's arms. "You look so good, baby," the mother gushed, her dark eyes raking down the sparkling blue dress her little boy had wanted to sleep in for the past couple of nights. "Now who are you supposed to be again?"

Clayton gave a dramatic roll of the eyes, his tiny hands shaking at his mother's slim shoulders. "Blue, mommy!"

"Wow, how could I forget that?"

The three year old shared a look with his father. "I don't know!"

Jack came clamoring down the steps with his Halloween bag in hand, his pirate hook taped securely on his hand and his eye patch covering his left eye. "Argh!"

"Whoa buddy!" the father of two laughed, squatting down to the ground and tickling his son's sides. "You make such a great Captain Hook. You know what? I think you're even the best I've ever seen."

The five year old smiled up to his father. "I know, daddy."

Emily pressed one last kiss to her youngest's cheek before setting him down on the floor, her hands reaching out to fluff his Cinderella dress' skirt so it poofed just like it was supposed to. "You guys be safe, ok? You remind your daddy to call me in exactly one hour."

"Kay mommy!"

The brunette woman set her hand to her hip as she watched her boys take their coats from their father and stuff them into their bags just in case they needed them when the sun went down. "Aaron?" She quickly gestured for him to come over, her brow arched. "So Batman," she pressed, "feeling any better about crushing your son's feelings the other day?"

Hotch narrowed his gaze on the younger woman. "I apologized many times, Emily. What more do you want from me?"

"I want you to take a good look at your son and see how happy he is," she pleaded, knowing that her husband wasn't fully in on how their child they had had together wanted to live his life for the moment, or maybe forever.

Glancing behind him, the chestnut eyed father felt his heart melt at the sight of his sons jumping around in the foyer pretending to sword fight. Even Clayton's older brother knew that him wearing a dress that day wasn't a bad thing, it was just the way he wanted to spend the holiday. "I can see that."

Emily slowly nodded her head, nibbling nervously on her lip as she heard the doorbell ring. "So now that we're all ok, you go out and have fun with the boys. And don't let them eat too much before they get home," she chuckled. "We don't need any upset stomachs."

Hotch shared a gentle smile with his wife, leaning down so his lips locked with hers. "We'll be back in a few hours." The brunette man made his way over to the front door and pulling it open to greet his friend. "Will," he laughed, pulling the younger man into a hug.

"Hello there Batman," the Southern man grinned. "And I'm just a regular old cop."

Emily smirked as she took the bottle of wine from her blond friend that walked into her house. "You're a cop during the day too, Will. Did you forget that?"

Will sent a small wave to the brunette woman, his other hand still tight around Henry's. "Evening to you too Em."

The four year old just by his father's side tilted his head as he looked to one of his best friend's, seeing the blue Cinderella dress he was wearing sparkle as he stepped outside. "What's that?"

Clayton grinned. "I's blue," he giggled. "I like blue."

"It's a dress."

Jack watched as Henry's face contorted as confusion riddled his body, and he quickly shook his head. "He can wear a dress. He's allowed."

The mother of the two dark haired boys felt her eyes burn with tears at the sight. Her little Jack was defending his brother.

"Why can't he wear a dress?" Jack questioned, glancing down to fix his hook on his hand. "It's 'kay if he wants to wear a dress."

Henry paused, sharing a look with his older friend before he nodded his head. "Ok."

Hotch kneeled before his eldest son as Will took both Henry and Clayton out into the driveway, and he wrapped his hand gently around his upper arm. "That was good, what you just did," he nodded. "You're a good older brother, Jack."

"I'm good like you daddy."

Emily held her hand over mouth to shield her watery smile from the boys. She had the two greatest sons, and an amazing husband who she knew was coming around.


End file.
